A spectator was arrested in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom today after he shouted at a former BART officer on trial for the shooting death of a man at an Oakland transit station.

The defendant, Johannes Mehserle, 28, was testifying in his own defense and shedding tears when an unidentified man jumped up and shouted, “Save those tears, dude.” Family members of the victim, Oscar Grant, applauded.

As the spectator was walking out of the courtroom, Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry ordered him arrested, and sheriff’s deputies took the man into custody.

Mehserle, a former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer, is on trial in downtown Los Angeles for the New Year’s Day shooting of the 22-year-old Grant in 2009.

The racially charged case was moved to Los Angeles because of extensive pretrial publicity after videos of the shooting taken by BART passengers were broadcast repeatedly in the Bay Area. Mehserle is white; Grant was black.

In opening statement, defense attorney Michael L. Rains said Grant was resisting Mehserle, who claims he was attempting to handcuff the victim. Mehserle also claims he accidentally grabbed his gun while reaching for his Taser stun gun.

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney David R. Stein alleges Mehserle murdered Grant during the disturbance at the Fruitvale Station.